Episode 795 (31st July 1968)
Plot Emily is surprised to see Stan in the yard when she arrives for work, he having got over the fence to repair his window-cleaning ladder. Ray sports a bruised cheek. Len isn't pleased to see he's turned up for work. Ray insists he never laid a finger on Elsie and tells him to check with her. Hilda and Annie insist they won't attend the Flemings' party as they disapprove of them living over the brush but Elsie takes issue with them. Elsie tells Len she was just sick of Ray watching her, saying things, and to forget the matter. Val returns home from the shops to find Ken rehearsing student Pamela Dickenson for a production of The Country Wife at the Tech. Ray tells Len he would never have a go at Elsie with him living next door. Effie helps Audrey prepare for the party. When Minnie mentions Annie's attitude towards them, Audrey cancels the party, outraged that people are just coming to ogle at them. Val helps Ken and Pamela with their lines but she annoys him when she corrects him and questions the text. Dickie makes Audrey change her mind about the party. Annie and Ena agree that they're going to keep Effie at a distance. When Annie hears that Ena is going to the party and is going to have a few words on the subject of the Flemings living together, she decides to go herself and suggests to Hilda that she goes with her. Elsie tells Len she's tired of being the subject of people's gossip but insists she never encouraged Ray. The neighbours gather at No.3 for the party. Audrey is surprised when Annie and Hilda arrive. An annoyed Ena makes a suggestion to Len and Audrey and a game of pass the parcel starts: Hilda wins and opens the parcel to discover the Flemings' wedding certificate. Ena asks an ashamed Annie and Hilda if they're satisfied now and makes the neighbours toast the young couple. Cast Regular cast *Stan Ogden - Bernard Youens *Miss Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire *Ray Langton - Neville Buswell *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Dickie Fleming - Nigel Humphreys *Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander *Valerie Barlow - Anne Reid *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Effie Spicer - Anne Dyson *Audrey Fleming - Gillian McCann Guest cast *Pamela Dickenson - Annette Robertson Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public/Snug *3 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *11 Coronation Street - Back room and kitchen *14 Coronation Street - Living room, kitchen and hallway *Fairclough and Booth - Yard Notes *Although scheduled no episode was transmitted on 29th July due to a half-hour strike (starting at 7.30pm) by technicians at Granada Television. This was one of a series of incidents that occurred as part of the 1968 ITV Strike. *Following the 1968 ITV franchise reshuffle, this was the first episode to be broadcast by Thames Television in London (who had succeeded Rediffusion) and Yorkshire Television who had taken the franchise east of the Pennines from Granada Television, the latter being upgraded to a seven day-a-week service west of the Pennines in recompense. *''TV Times'' synopsis: The Flemings throw a party - and the Street finds out the truth *No Viewing Figures were collected for this episode as the wildcat stoppages which built up towards the 1968 ITV Strike were gathering pace. The explanation from JICTAR was, "a list of the top twenty programmes, calculated on the normal homes-viewing basis, would contain many programmes which qualified for inclusion because they were screened at times when no alternative programmes were available for viewers." Notable dialogue Annie Walker (to Hilda Ogden about Elsie Tanner): "Some of us in this life are wives and some are wanderers." --- Elsie Tanner (to Len Fairclough): "Look, if it's alright for you to look at a bird in miniskirts and go 'yum yum', then I'm not going to be ashamed of liking to look at young men." Category:1968 episodes